The Odds in Our Favor
by booksnbutterfly814
Summary: AU: 24 go in, one comes out. Those are the rules. Damon and Elena live in the country of Panem, and it is that time of year again: Reaping Day. Delena/Hunger Games crossover.
1. Chapter 1

Damon had no desire to wake up, of all days, especially not today. It was his last reaping, and while that meant it was the last year he would be eligible to be shipped off to the Capitol for a fight to the death, it also meant his name was entered over 40 times. Granted, there were thousands of entries, but he was still very aware of the chances he had of going into the arena.

It was a sacrifice he had to make, though. In order to keep his family fed, Damon had to sign up for tesserae, where he would have his name entered into the reaping more times in exchange for food. Each year, he had to do this for himself, his brother Stefan, and their parents. It was the only thing he could do to help his family, so he did it.

"Damon, c'mon, you have to get up," Stefan said, poking his head into Damon's room. "We have to get ready." Damon sighed and rolled out of bed. Everyone had to look their best on Reaping Day, as the event was broadcast nationwide. Those whose names were entered into the reaping had to look especially nice, as the two chosen tributes would be immediately shipped off to the Capitol. It was all really disgusting, actually, but Damon would never risk saying so out loud. Both he and Stefan got dressed in their nicest clothes, and headed to the square with all the other kids entered into the reaping. Since Damon was 18, it was his last year. Stefan was only 16, and had two years left. His name was only entered in five times, though, because Damon always took the hit and signed up for tesserae.

"Good luck," Stefan said somberly before giving his brother a hug and joining the other 16 year olds. Damon then made his way over to the crowd of 18 year old boys near the back of square. The whole place was crawling with Peacekeepers, and Damon tried to avoid them. He hated Peacekeepers, almost as much as he hated the Hunger Games.

Suddenly, the entire square grew silent as Carol Lockwood walked onstage. Damon couldn't help but cringe at her obnoxious and repugnant pink hair. He never understood Capitol fashion, nor did he think he ever would.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome," Carol spoke into the microphone with the annoying, superior Capitol accent, just as she did every year. "Happy Hunger Games!" her enthusiasm was met with dead silence. "Ah, so let's get right to it then, and may the odds be _ever _in your favor," she added. "Ladies first!" Carol walked over to a large glass bowl on the far left side of the stage, the sound of her heels resonating in the silence. She stopped behind the bowl, and reached inside. She pulled a slip out and walked back to the microphone. Time slowed to a near halt as Carol unfolded the slip of paper and read it aloud.

"Elena Gilbert!" Carol announced. There was a uniform sigh of relief from most of the girls, but the camera found Elena, stoically walking towards the stage. Damon didn't know her that well, apart from brief interactions over the years at school, but he did know one thing: she was a fighter. Both her parents had died in a mining explosion, and she'd been caring for herself ever since. "Congratulations, Elena!" Carol cheered, and Elena responded with the same stone faced expression. She seemed determined not to show any emotion. "And now the boys," Carol said, making her way over to another large bowl on the far right. Damon, and just about every one of the boys around him, held their breath. Carol reached in, took a slip out, and walked back to the microphone.

"Stefan Salvatore!" she said clearly. Damon's heart stopped. Stefan. It was Stefan. On screen, Damon could see his brother being escorted on stage by Peacekeepers. He had no idea what overtook him in that moment, but the next thing he knew, he was running towards the stage, fighting to get past two Peacekeepers.

"Wait!" he yelled out, and the Peacekeepers let go. "I volunteer!"

"And we have a volunteer…" Carol said, sounding impressed. Stefan froze on the stage as Damon walked forward. "What is your name, young man?"

"D- Damon Salvatore." Damon said numbly. He had no idea what had just happened, but it was slowly registering that he had just condemned himself to death to save his brother's life. He knew, however, that if the situation was reversed, Stefan would have done the same.

"Well, there we have it, this year's District Twelve tributes for the Seventy Fourth annual Hunger Games!" Carol's applause was again met by silence, and instead of clapping, every one if the kids in the square placed their three middle fingers to their lips, and then held the sign in the air. It was a sign of respect in the district, and Damon and Elena both knew deep down this was District 12's way of saying goodbye to them. "Well, go on, shake hands," Carol said, clearly trying to hurry through the rest of the ceremony. Damon and Elena shook hands, and then were ushered off stage. They were led into separate rooms, where their family could say goodbye.

Damon was still having trouble breathing; at the time, he had only been concerned with saving Stefan, but now he was coming to terms with the consequences of what he had done. He was probably going to die, but he would rather Stefan live. Of course, he was going to fight as hard as he could to win, but he knew that when it really came down to it, he probably wasn't going to get out of the arena alive.

After a few minutes of silence, the door in Damon's waiting room opened, and Stefan walked in.

"Why would you do that?" Stefan asked.

"If either of us is going to die in that arena, it's going to be me," Damon said. "It's my job to look out for you."

"But you were never supposed to _die_ for me!" Stefan said.

"Tell me you wouldn't do the same if my name was called." Damon said. Stefan didn't say anything; they both knew it was true. "Listen, you have to take care of mom and dad. Everything is going to be fine." Damon was trying to be strong. He knew Stefan looked up to him. "Tell them I love them," he added. Stefan nodded, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. Damon was also fighting back tears. He knew his time in District 12 was coming to an end. A Peacekeeper knocked on the door and escorted Stefan out. A few minutes later, Carol came in to lead Damon out to the train with Elena.

"You two are in for quite the treat!" Carol cheered. "Crystal chandeliers, mahogany tables, fine china… Oh it's just wonderful! Nothing like you'd ever see out here." There was a slight tone of disgust in her voice, and Damon and Elena tried to ignore her as they boarded the train. "Ah, I'll go find Alaric," Carol said once everyone was settled in. "He's probably passed out drunk in his room." She impatiently scuttled out of the main car of the train, leaving Damon and Elena alone.

"Hi, I'm Damon," Damon said, trying to alleviate some of the obvious tension hanging in the air.

"I know who you are," Elena said coldly, fixing her gaze out the window. Although he wasn't sure, Damon thought her face was tearstained. Just then, Damon heard footsteps behind him.

"Well, who have we got this year?" a drunken voice asked from behind him. It was Alaric Saltzman, District 12's only surviving victor. He wasn't exactly the ideal mentor- he had turned to alcohol as a way to cope with the trauma from his Hunger Games- but he was Damon and Elena's only source of insight into what they could possibly be facing. After getting a good look at Elena and Damon, Alaric simply smiled. "Congratulations," he said sarcastically before sitting down across from them.

"Alaric is here to offer you any advice that might aide in your survival in the arena." Carol said, although she didn't sound so confident about it.

"But my best advice for you is this: Accept the fact that your death is imminent, and get over that fact now. There's no time for crying once you get into the Capitol." Alaric said.

"That's it?" Elena asked angrily. "The best advice you have for us is 'You're gonna die, get over it,'? How about you put the scotch down for five minutes and try to give us some actual advice. Because I don't know about you, Damon, but I intend to try and stay alive for as long as I can." She was enraged at this point, and simply got up and headed to her room.


	2. Chapter 2

Elena had no idea where the outburst had come from. She was just so sick of people telling her things were hopeless; she had practically raised herself since her parents were blown to bits in the mines three years ago, and she had managed to survive this long. She had every intention of trying to make it out of the arena alive. As soon as she was in the privacy of her own room on the train, however, the façade she had been trying to uphold broke apart. After her name was called at the reaping, she had gone into somewhat of a state of shock, and Alaric's statement had finally allowed things to hit home for her. Despite her determination to live, she knew Alaric was right, and that there was very little she was going to be able to do to prevent her death.

While she had been trying to remain strong in front of everyone, she simply couldn't keep the act up forever, and once she was alone, Elena broke down crying. Between sobs, she hardly noticed that Damon had come into the room. When she heard him clear his throat, she jumped up.

"What do you want?" she asked coldly, wiping away tears.

"I, uh, heard you crying," Damon said. "I wanted to see if you were okay."

"Obviously I'm not." Elena said. "You heard what Alaric said. We're going to die."

"You don't know that." Damon said. He hardly believed the words himself, and he was trying to reassure both Elena and himself at the same time.

"Well at least one of us is going to die." Elena said. Neither of them could deny that fact. Those were the rules of the Games: 24 go in, and only one comes out.

"Then we're just going to have to fight for as long as we can." Damon said. "You said so yourself."

"Yeah, well I was just hoping to piss Alaric off enough to sober up long enough to help us." Elena said.

"Like that could ever happen." Damon laughed. Everyone in District 12 knew how bad Alaric's problem was, and there was no amount of willpower in the world to get him to stop drinking. "Well, I'm gonna go get some sleep," Damon said. "I'll see you tomorrow." He gave Elena a reassuring pat on the shoulder and smiled before getting up to leave.

"Hey, Damon," Elena said, catching him as he walked out. "That was really brave, when you volunteered for your brother." Damon smiled again.

"Thanks," he said before heading to his own room. Elena couldn't help but laugh to herself as Damon left. _All the girls back home must hate me right now_, she thought. Certainly they were mourning the probable loss of one of District 12's most eligible bachelors. There was no doubting that Damon was attractive, and many of the girls in their class had developed a crush on him at some point or another. Elena had never seen the appeal, however. Sure, he was handsome, but she had never really seen anything more than that. The reaping, however, had shown her a completely different side of him, and made her think that there actually might be more to Damon than meets the eye.

Damon sighed as he sat down on his bed. _Elena Gilbert… _he thought. He liked her, he always had. She was one of the few girls in District 12 who wasn't fooled by his charm and good looks, and she was pretty. Not only that, but she was a survivor. There had been a few times when Damon had seen Elena sneak out under the fence along the border of District 12 to hunt, or sneaking back in with a game bag full of squirrels and wild birds. There was something about her that just pulled Damon towards her.

She actually might have a chance of winning, too. And she deserved to, after all she'd been through. He, on the other hand, hardly had a chance. Sure, he used to fight with Stefan when they were younger, but they had just been messing around, and it definitely wasn't a life or death situation. Other than that, he knew next to nothing about combat, or survival. At the very least, he could try and help Elena get back. That way, even if it couldn't be him, District 12 would have a victor, and there would be enough food for Stefan and his parents to survive. That was all that mattered to him.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Elena was the last one to wake up. When she arrived in the main car of the train, Damon, Carol, and Alaric were already eating breakfast.

"Ah, well look who decided to join us," Carol said, "Just in time to watch the reapings, too." She turned on the TV, and the Capitol logo came on the screen. The logo faded out to show a man and a woman seated at a table together, in front of a large screen.

"Well let's take a look at the reapings from yesterday," the man said. It was Caesar Flickerman, the ever enthusiastic host of the Hunger Games. The woman next to him was Meredith Fell, the Head Gamemaker for this year's Games. She was the one who pretty much designed the entire competition. The feed cut to a recording of the reaping in District 1, where a pretty blonde girl and a tall, lean boy were chosen. They both looked to be about 17 or 18, and came across as vicious, trained killers; your typical Career tributes from the more well-off districts. In District 2, another blonde girl who could probably kill you with one look was chosen, and then a muscular boy stepped up to volunteer when a younger kid was called. Again, they were your typical Careers. Damon and Elena shared a nervous glance as they got their first look at some of their fiercest competition. The tributes from District 3 were slightly less intimidating: the girl looked to be about 16, and was a nervous wreck as she was pulled onto the stage, and the boy couldn't have been any older than 14. The next set of Careers from District 4 looked just as lethal as the tributes from Districts 1 and 2. Elena was trying to catch everyone's names, but she was having a hard time remembering them all; each time another tribute was called, she kept weighing her chances against them, and could hardly think of anything else. A quiet girl of about 16 and an average looking boy of about18 were called in District 5, and they didn't seem to be too much of a threat. Elena and Damon were both older than them, and these tributes, like those from District 3, didn't seem to be very strong. The tributes from District 6 seemed completely hopeless; they were weak, skinny, and couldn't be older than 16. The girl looked even younger. The girl from District 7 was only 13, but she looked like she could be a contender. She remained strong in front of the camera, and carried herself pretty well. The boy from her district was a bit older, maybe 15, and had a bit of muscle on him, but he didn't seem like the kind of person who would willingly run into a fight. The pair from District 8 were a little disconcerting for Elena; they were both about 18, and seemed to be pretty strong. The District 9 tributes didn't seem like much of a concern: the girl was 12, the youngest in the Games, and the boy was about 15, but hopelessly skinny. In District 10, the girl was about 13, and had to be dragged onstage. The boy was a little older and carried himself pretty well, but he didn't seem to have much of a chance. The girl from District 11 was a little older, maybe 16, and seemed like she might be able to last a few days, but the boy was 14 and looked terrified. And then came the reaping from District 12. Elena watched herself walk stone-faced onto the stage, and then watched Stefan get called. The commotion started when Damon ran out and volunteered. They showed Damon going up onto the stage, but cut out the salute from all the kids in the square. Once the recaps were over, the video cut back to Caesar and Meredith.

"Well what do you think about the group we have lined up this year?" Caesar asked.

"It's hard to tell just from the reaping, but it looks like a promising group. There's a fairly diverse mix of kids, and of course, when you have a volunteer from an outlying district, that's always something to look out for," Meredith responded. Elena turned to Damon to see how he was reacting to the recaps. She was still trying to process everything, and was curious to see what Damon was thinking. He was getting a lot of attention because he volunteered, after all.

"There you have it," Caesar Flickerman was saying, "Our tributes for the Seventy Fourth Annual Hunger Games!" Images of each tribute flashed on the screen as he read their names, "From District 1, Caroline and Klaus! From District 2, Rebekah and Tyler! From District 3, Sage and Finn! From District 4, Lexi and Kol! From District 5, Katherine and Elijah! From District 6, Vicki and Matt! From District 7, Anna and Jeremy! From District 8, Jules and Mason! From District 9, Dana and Harper! From District 10, Rose and Trevor! From District 11, Bonnie and Luka! And finally, from District 12, Elena and Damon! We wish you all a very happy Hunger Games, and to our tributes, may the odds be _ever _in your favor." The Capitol seal came back on, and then Carol turned the TV back off.

"Well I think you have your work cut out for you," she said. Elena and Damon stared at her incredulously. No kidding, they had their work cut out for them. Those Careers could chew them up and spit them out. "I can say that you don't have the _worst_ odds going into this."

"Yeah, but they don't have the best odds, either." Alaric said. Elena couldn't help but notice that he was drinking coffee for once. For a moment, she thought her outburst might have actually given Alaric the awakening she had hoped for.

"Is there anything we can do to increase those odds?" she asked.

"Stay alive." Alaric replied. Elena couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic, and neither could Damon.

"What about getting sponsors?" Damon asked. "Can't that help?"

"Sure it can help," Alaric said, "If you can get people to _like _you. The fact that you volunteered for your brother might get you a little sympathy, and you're pretty easy on the eyes, so that might help you. But Elena, you're going to have to open up more. This whole no emotion thing you have going on isn't going to work once we get to the Capitol. Talk about your parents, and how you managed to survive on your own. It can show that you have potential." Elena rolled her eyes. Or course, Damon had his looks and his bravery in volunteering on his side. What did she have? A sob story about her dead parents. She wasn't surprised that Alaric knew about it; pretty much all of District 12 did, but they were simply too poor to help her out. Maybe she _could _work with that.

"I could try," she said. At this point she just wanted to survive.


	4. Chapter 4

They arrived at the Capitol later that day. It was unlike anything Damon and Elena had ever seen, and they couldn't help but watch in awe as the city went by them.

"Woah," Elena said. She had seen images of the Capitol in school and on TV, but nothing compared to seeing it in person. Stone buildings towered over avenues lined with shops. People, extravagantly dressed in the latest, most obnoxious fashions, hurried along here or there. Soon, scenes of the pristine city were replaced by hordes of cheering Capitol citizens, gathered to greet the tribute trains. Elena and Damon found themselves gawking at the absurd Capitol style, staring in amazement at how well off all these people were compared to everyone back home.

"Smile!" Alaric quietly instructed the two through his teeth. Damon and Elena did as he said, occasionally waving to their potential fans as the train sped by.

The train rolled through the Capitol into the Training Center, where all the tributes lived and trained in the days leading up to the Games, and then came to a stop.

"Hurry, hurry!" Carol said, ushering everyone off the train as she glanced down at her watch. "We're already behind schedule!" Elena and Damon were then led down a hallway labeled "Remake Center," and into separate, empty rooms. Elena sighed as she eyed the equipment inside: a shower, various personal hygiene products, a beautician's chair. She sat in the chair and impatiently waited for someone to come in. After a few minutes, three highly ostentatious Capitol citizens walked in. They introduced themselves as Sheila, Pearl, and Andie before getting down to work on Elena. They scrubbed her down, washed and cut her hair, waxed nearly every inch of her body, and somehow managed to transform her from a tired, starving orphan from District 12 into someone who looked somewhat normal. All the while, the prep team was discussing which tributes had the best chances, as if Elena wasn't even there.

"Oh, yes, the boy from One looks promising," Sheila said. She was older than the other two women, and reminded Elena somewhat of a cat. This resemblance was enhanced by surgical modifications, such as the whiskers that came out from either side of her nose.

"I don't know, the girl from Two definitely looks lethal," Andie added. She was the most normal looking of the three; her pink hair and bulking jewels were the most obnoxious features of her style. Upon mention of the female tribute from District 2, Elena couldn't help but recall her first impression of the girl: _If looks could kill…_ she had thought.

"I still think the boy from 12 can win," Pearl added. "He did volunteer, after all." Elena rolled her eyes. _Of course they would talk about Damon_, she thought. He was all anyone could talk about when District 12 was brought up. Never mind the other tribute who was being sent to slaughter; the one who was sitting right in front of them.

When the prep team was finally finished, Elena was led into another, smaller room. She only had to wait a few minutes before a man walked in. At first, Elena didn't think he was a Capitol citizen; the sheer lack of bodily modifications took her by surprise. He looked almost normal, with light blue hair and blue eyes. The only thing that gave away his Capitol citizenship was his apparent good health, and the little bit of gold eye shadow he wore.

"Hello, Elena," he said. "I'm Slater. I'll be your stylist for the Games."

"Hi," Elena said quietly.

"First off, I want to tell you how sorry I am that this has happened to you," Slater said. "No one deserved this." Elena eyed him suspiciously; this guy was definitely unlike any of the other Capitol citizens she'd encountered so far. It was a relief to find someone here who was as disgusted at the whole institution as she was.

"Most people just congratulate me," Elena replied grimly.

"Well, I think it's crap," Slater said. He quickly brushed the matter aside, however, and moved on to less treasonous things, such as what she was going to wear in the upcoming tribute parade.

"We're usually just coal miners," Elena said. It was true: the tributes usually wore outfits that represented their districts, so those from 12 ended up wearing tacky costumes meant to look like the uniforms workers wore down in the mines.

"Yeah, well I think that's incredibly stupid, so we're doing something a little different this year," Slater said. Elena couldn't help but smile; given her history with coal mines, the costumes brought up bad memories.

Once Elena was ready, Slater brought her back to the ground floor of the Training Center. Many of the other tributes had already gathered, surrounding their chariots with their mentors, escorts, and stylists. Among them, Elena found Damon standing with Alaric, Carol, and a woman who was introduced as Jenna, Damon's stylist, towards the back of the large room.

"Ah, there you are," Carol said impatiently. She was obviously irked by Elena's 'tardiness'- she was one of the last tributes to arrive.

"So remember, this is your chance to make a good impression on the people in the Capitol. You want them to remember who you are if they're going to sponsor you," Alaric said. "So smile and wave… Do whatever you can think of to get people to take an interest in you." Damon and Elena both nodded. The last thing either of them wanted to do was smile and wave to the Capitol citizens who would soon be betting on who would love or die, but they knew they had to if they wanted to survive.

"Hold hands on the chariot, too," Slater said. This was definitely new: usually the tributes stood gripping the edge of the chariots for dear life. The idea of holding hands seemed interesting, however. Damon and Elena nodded before getting on the chariot. "Ready?" Slater asked before lighting the two of fire. They were perfectly harmless, synthetic flames, but they looked so realistic that Elena was scared for a moment that she might get burnt.

The chariots started to move, District One taking the lead. The two tributes, Klaus and Caroline, were dressed in formalwear, and covered in fine jewels. The pair from District 2, Tyler and Rebekah, followed, dressed as a warrior prince and princess. These were the most impressive costumes: the other districts' stylists had gone the traditional route, dressing the tributes in costumes that mimicked the specialty of each respective district. The District 3 tributes wore black suits covered in multicolored wire, designed to look like a circuit board of sorts; the pair from District 4 was supposed to be some kind of fish; District 5, power plant workers; 6, a train of some kind; 7, trees; 8, textile mill workers; 9, farmers; 10, herders; 11, gatherers. Damon and Elena brought up the rear, their fiery outfits causing the crowd to go wild. Damon reached for Elena's hand, but she instinctively pulled away.

"C'mon, Slater wants us to," Damon said. Elena nodded and took his hand. They held their interlocked hands above their heads, and the crowd's cheers became even more deafening; they were loving this. Remembering Alaric's advice, Elena smiled, and used her free hand to wave every so often.

The chariots came to a stop in an arc in front a stage before the president's mansion. Once all the chariots stopped, President Mikael walked up to the podium. His speech welcoming the tributes was hard to hear above the din, but Elena noticed that he was having difficulty peeling his eyes off of her and Damon. They seemed to have the same effect on everyone. Once Mikael finished addressing the tributes, the chariots redirected back into the Training Center.

"That was perfect!" Jenna cheered.

"Absolutely wonderful!" Carol smiled in approval. Many of the other tributes stared enviously at Damon and Elena as Slater extinguished the flames. None of the other districts had gotten quite the same reaction as 12; in fact, Elena could never remember any of the tributes getting such a great response in the past. At least now she had something going for her, and this thought gave her some comfort going into the next piece of the Games.


	5. Chapter 5

"You two are going to _love_ the penthouse!" Carol cheered as she led Damon and Elena to an elevator on the ground floor of the Training Center. Once inside, she pushed a button labeled "12." "Each district gets its own floor," Carol explained, "and since you're from 12, you get the top!" She continued to babble on about stunning views and fine linens while Damon and Elena shared a wary glance. They really could care less about the finer luxuries of Capitol life, as long as they had a place to sleep and food to eat.

The elevator opened to reveal an extravagant great room; everything in the room could pay to feed a family in District 12 for a year.

"Now, Elena, your room is off to the right, and Damon, yours is to the left," Carol said, showing Damon and Elena their rooms. The two were relieved, thinking that they would finally get to sleep, but then Carol continued to talk. "Get changed, and be ready for dinner in an hour." While they were both exhausted, they were also starving, so Damon and Elena did as Carol said and went off to their rooms.

After taking a relaxing shower, Elena found a closet full of some of the most ostentatious Capitol fashions she had seen so far. Carol must have stocked the wardrobe herself. While these must have been considered the most appropriate dining attire in the Capitol, Elena decided to put her dress from the Reaping back on. She felt more comfortable in her own clothes, and even though Carol would probably deem it too casual for dinner, it seemed nice enough. She came out of her room to find that Damon was already seated alongside Carol and Alaric. He, too, was wearing his outfit from the Reaping.

"There you are…" Carol said impatiently; Elena must have taken too long to get ready. She took a seat next to Damon, and servants brought out trays overflowing with food. Since she was starving, Elena couldn't help but fill her plate with the most delicious foods she had ever tasted: lamb, potatoes, corn, soup, salads… There was more food than she had seen in months. Damon was also filling his plate and going back for seconds, thirds. They savored each bite, knowing they would probably only have a few of these meals left. Once the two started to slow down, Alaric began talking.

"Okay, so your training for the Games is going to start tomorrow," he said. "Do you two have any skills that might help you in the arena?" He eyes Elena for a moment, expecting her to answer.

"Elena's pretty good with a crossbow," Damon said when Elena didn't speak up. Elena stared at him with a look of confusion. No one was supposed to know that she hunted, except for the people she sold game to. And she'd certainly never sold anything to Damon's family. "I used to see her sneaking out to hunt with an old crossbow. And… I know a few people who always talk about what a great shot she is." There was a hint of admiration in his voice.

"Yeah, with squirrels…" Elena said.

"Trust me, sweetheart, it's not much different with people," Alaric said. The statement itself gave Elena chills. "Anyway, at least we can work with that," he added, his mood becoming more optimistic. "What about you, Pretty Boy? You got any skills?"

"Not really…" Damon said, looking down at the floor. "I mean, my brother and I used to wrestle sometimes when we were messing around, but I hardly doubt that can translate into a life or death situation…" He seemed ashamed; compared to Elena, his few skills were basically nothing.

"Were you _good_?" Alaric asked. Damon shrugged.

"Better than my brother," he said, "but I'm older than him."

"You're older than most of the kids going into the Games, too," Alaric pointed out.

"Yeah, but they're stronger than me," Damon retorted.

"You're pretty strong, too, Damon," Elena added. "I've seen you lift well over 100 pounds."

"So what? Everyone knows I'm not going to make it out of there alive, so can we stop pretending that I have a chance?" Damon said, raising his voice. Elena jumped back a little, startled by the sudden outburst.

"Don't say that…" she said, trying to calm Damon down. "Try to think about Stefan. Would he let you think about that?"

"Don't bring my brother into this!" Damon said. "This has nothing to do with him!" Elena could see that he was starting to get upset as he angrily got up and stormed off to his room. Elena, Carol, and Alaric all sat in silence for a moment, trying to process what had just happened.

"Uh… Excuse me…" Elena said quietly as she slowly got up from the table and went to her room. Damon's outburst had surprised her. She'd figured that he would be determined to win for Stefan, but instead, he was already throwing in the towel. Elena shrugged; she had no power over what Damon did.

Sighing, she changed into a pair of pajama pants and a T-shirt before turning on the TV. They were playing a recap of the tribute parade. When they got to District 12, Elena was shocked. She and Damon looked incredible; the fire from their costumes let off a haunting glow, and the two looked strong and confident with their hands held high in the air. Caesar Flickerman was loving every minute of it.

"Never have there been two tributes to stand united before the crowd, clearly stating that they are proud to be from their district," he said in a voice over as the Damon and Elena on screen rode down the concourse. "These two definitely aren't going to go without a fight. With its first ever volunteer tribute, and such a dramatic entrance into the Games, District 12 is going to be one to watch." Elena couldn't help but laugh to herself. Those Capitol citizens really were clueless. Here was Caesar Flickerman, confidently announcing that 12 would be the district to watch in these Games, when Damon was just across the way, recovering from a minor mental breakdown.

_Damon_… she thought, realizing that her harsh judgment might not have been fair. She had been in the same position just the day before, and he'd gone to check on her. Quietly, she got up and crept through the great room to Damon's bedroom on the other side. The door was slightly ajar, so she pushed it open just enough to see inside. Damon was sitting with his back to the door, watching the same recap she had been.

"Hanging in there?" she asked. Damon jolted upright and turned around, clearly startled by Elena's sudden appearance. "Sorry, I… didn't mean to scare you."

"No, it's alright," Damon said. "I just wasn't expecting you. Uh, you can come in…" Elena walked into the room and sat cross legged on the edge of the bed.

"I just wanted to see if you were okay," she explained. "After everything at dinner…" she trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"Sorry I yelled at you," Damon said. "You were just trying to be helpful."

"It's okay," Elena said. "I get how you're feeling. You just can't think like that. Not here, anyways."

"I know," Damon replied. "Sometimes I forget that this is all real, and then it hits me…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Elena said. "You don't want to think about it all the time, but when you do, you realize it's real and it feels like you're back at the Reaping all over again." Damon nodded in agreement. Somehow, Elena knew all the right things to say. Maybe she was just returning the favor from when he'd tried to calm her down on the train, but it was actually nice to have someone who actually understood what he was dealing with. "When my parents died, it took a long time to really sink in," Elena said. "You just have to take it one day at a time, and try to stay strong. It's okay to break down every once in a while, as long as no one is watching." Damon thought he saw a few tears in her eyes before she wiped them away.

"Thank you, Elena," Damon said. He wasn't really sure why he was thanking her: for sharing something so personal, for giving him advice, for just being there.

"Anytime," Elena replied, a shy smile creeping across her face.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been updating… I've been pretty busy lately. AP exams are right around the corner, so I've been studying a lot. I've also been working on a few new stories because I keep getting ideas that I can't help but write. **

**Anyways, hopefully once APs are over and things calm down again, I'll be able to write more often. I just wanted to get this up since I felt bad that I haven't been posting anything new. **

**Oh, and I haven't actually put this on my other chapters but here it is… **

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Vampire Diaries**_**, **_**The Hunger Games**_**, or any characters or ideas from either franchise herein.**

**Enjoy!**

**- Alyssa :D**

When Elena woke up, Damon was beside her, his arm wrapped around her waist. They'd stayed up for a while talking about home, the Games, whatever they felt like. There was just this moment when she felt like she could tell him anything, and she did. He'd opened up too, and she learned more about him that night than she'd ever known when they were in District 12. At some point, they must have fallen asleep, given that the blankets were untouched, and they were curled up together. Elena stayed like this for a few minutes; she liked being so close to someone, and she felt safe for the first time in a while.

Damon woke up a few minutes later, and smiled when he saw that Elena was still there.

"Good morning," he said. Elena rolled over to face him, and smiled.

"Morning," she said somewhat shyly. They stayed like that in silence for a little while, not wanting to get out of bed. Getting up meant letting go of each other, and moving one step closer to the Games. Not long after, however, Carol walked in.

"Good morning Da- oh, goodness!" she said, clearly surprised to see  
Elena. "Elena, I wasn't expecting you to be in here… Was I- interrupting something?"

"What?" Elena asked. "Oh, no, we were just talking…" she added once she realized what Carol had implied.

"Oh, very well then," Carol added. "Breakfast is almost ready, so I suggest you two get dressed. We've got a big day ahead of us!" Damon and Elena looked at each other warily and then got up. They knew what awaited them: their first day of training.

"You two get nice and cozy?" Alaric teased when Elena and Damon sat down to eat.

"We were just talking…" Elena clarified.

"Sure," Alaric said patronizingly. Elena and Damon ignored him and got down to eating the bounty of food the servants placed in front of them: pancakes, bacon, eggs, sausages, waffles, bagels, fresh fruit. Everything was delicious, and Elena savored each bite. "Are you guys ready for training?" Alaric asked once everyone finished eating.

"I think so," Elena said confidently. She wasn't sure what to expect when she got down to the training room, but she wanted to start preparing for the Games. If she wanted to win, she was going to need every minute of practice she could get.

"What about you, pretty boy?" Alaric asked, turning to Damon.

"Yeah, I think so." Damon tentatively replied. Alaric could tell that he wasn't as sure of himself as he wanted to sound.

"Okay, here's the deal," Alaric began. "I want you two to stick together. The Capitol has been all over your whole 'united we stand' thing from the parade, and I think we should keep it up." Damon and Elena nodded. After their talk the night before, they both had intended to stick together anyway. "Elena, since you already know you're good with a crossbow, I want you to focus more on the other areas of training. Don't show any of your strengths until your individual training sessions." Elena nodded. She had hoped to get her hands on a crossbow to practice, but she knew she needed other training as well. "Damon, try and find a weapon you're good with. You might want to work with more than one, but find something and keep practicing. Most importantly, though, stay away from the Careers. All you are to them is a human target. They're going to want to find your weaknesses and use them against you." Elena and Damon nodded, allowing each piece of advice to sink in. There was a lot they needed to know, and the Games hadn't even started yet.

The training room was a large gymnasium on the ground floor of the Training Center. A variety of weapons lined one wall:" swords, spears, knives, bows, just about anything you could use to kill someone. Sparring dummies and targets took up most of the floor, and a few survival stations surrounded the room. There was even an obstacle course that the tributes were expected to complete with a backpack and weapon in tow.

Once all the tributes had arrived, dressed in identical outfits with their district number on them, they gathered in the middle of the room, where two women stood facing them.

"Welcome to the Training Center," the first woman said. Elena recognized her as Meredith Fell, the head Gamemaker. "This is Liz Forbes. She will be giving you instructions on how to spend your next few days. I wish you all the best of luck, and, of course, may the odds be ever in your favor." Looking around, Elena was beginning to feel like her odds might not be as favorable as she'd hoped.

"In a few weeks, 23 of you will be dead," Liz Forbes said grimly. "Over the next four days, you will be training in order to ensure that you live as long as you can." Elena and Damon shared a nervous glance. Between Liz's introduction and all the other tributes being so close, they were beginning to worry. "Don't ignore the survival skills stations; those lessons can be just as valuable as combat training. The majority of you will die of natural causes: dehydration and infection kill more than 50% of the tributes in the Games. That being said, however, combat training will probably make up most of your time here. You will not be fighting with each other until the Games, but we have trained instructors here to work with you.

"On the final day of training, you will each be individually evaluated and awarded a score between 0 and 12. Doing well can help you gain sponsors, and could mean the difference between life and death. Once again, good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor." Liz left, and the tributes began to disperse and go to different stations. Most of them kept to themselves, even avoiding their district partners. Elena, however, turned to Damon, and sighed.

"What do you want to do?" Damon asked her. Elena shrugged as she looked around. The Careers were all training with different weapons. The boy from District 1 was mutilating training dummy after training dummy with a sword. It was actually pretty frightening. His district partner was just about a perfect shot with a bow and arrow. The pair from Two were even more alarming. The boy could hit the bullseye on a target with a spear while standing 50 yards away. The girl could throw knives from even farther, and a sick smile came across her face each time she did so.

"Let's go see what weapons you're good with," Elena suggested, bringing Damon over to a rack of swords and spears.

"Alaric told us to stay away from the Careers," Damon protested.

"Yeah, but he also said that you needed weapons training. And the Careers will _never_ take you seriously if you don't show them what you're capable of," Elena said. "C'mon, just try _something_." Damon hesitantly looked over the weapons, and finally decided on a few daggers. He stood on a like about 25 yards from the target, and threw it. The dagger flew through the air and hit the bullseye. Elena's jaw dropped. "Holy… where did that come from?" she asked. A few of the Careers, the girl from Two included, stared at Damon for a moment, clearly surprised that he had done so well.

"Stefan and I used to throw knives at the mice that would come into our house," Damon said.

"Why didn't you tell Alaric that?" Elena asked. "That was amazing!" Damon smiled shyly.

"It was probably just beginners luck or something," he said.

"Oh yeah?" Elena asked, handing him another dagger with a sly, challenging grin. "Try again." Damon took the dagger and threw it. Again, it hit the bull's-eye. After that, he grew more confident, and threw a few more. Each one hit the bull's-eye with the exception of one or two. While Damon practiced with the daggers, Elena decided to get some spear-throwing practice in. she wanted to use the crossbow that was hanging on the wall, but keeping her greatest strength a secret was the one piece of Alaric's advice she was actually going to heed.

After a while, Damon went over to Elena and suggested that they go to one of the survival skills stations. Having to fend for herself for three years, Elena knew a lot about finding food, starting fires, and had a good sense of what plants were safe and which weren't. Damon, however, didn't know as much, so Elena agreed to help him.

"So, how was training?" Alaric asked as everyone sat down for dinner.

"Pretty good," Elena said. "Damon's been holding out on us," she added.

"Oh, really?" Alaric asked, raising an eyebrow. "How so?"

"It's really nothing," Damon said shyly.

"Are you kidding me?" Elena said. "You hit like 9 out of 10 bull's-eyes!"

"With what?" Alaric asked.

"Daggers," Elena said, pretty much talking for Damon, who was remaining quiet. "He was throwing them from like 20 yards away." Alaric seemed impressed.

"Just be careful," he warned. "Some of the others can hit those marks from 100 yards. Elena's mind flashed back to the girl from District 2, and the deadly precision with which she hit each of her targets.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Wow, I haven't updated this in a **_**long **_**time. I'm sorry. I'm a horrible updater. **

**I'd been pretty distracted between AP exams and finals and English research papers so it was pretty hard for me to get any writing in edgewise. But it's finally summer and that means I have all the time in the world to devote to writing. **

**I promise I'm going to get to the Games soon. That's when the good stuff's going to happen ;) **

**I don't have a set plan at the moment, so I'm just going to see how this chapter goes and then take it from there. **

**Thanks for sticking by me through the hiatus :D Please R&R- it means a lot. **

**-Alyssa**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Vampire Diaries, The Hunger Games**_**, or any characters or ideas from either franchise herein. **

Later that night, Elena was sitting in her bed, watching more Capitol coverage of the Games. She had no idea why- it was always the same discussion about what tributes seemed the most promising. It was always the same tributes: Klaus, Tyler, Rebekah, Mason, and of course, Damon. Occasionally, someone would mention Elena, but those instances were definitely few and far between. She wasn't surprised; who would notice her when Damon was so much more appealing. Sighing, she turned the TV off, and at the same time, someone knocked on the door. Elena got up to open it and found Damon on the other side.

"Hey," Elena smiled.

"Do you want to see something?" Damon asked.

"Sure," Elena shrugged. Damon grabbed her wrist and led her down the hall to a door labeled 'Roof Access.' He opened the door and motioned for Elena to go inside. "Are we even allowed to go up here?" she asked.

"Shh!" Damon said, pressing his index finger to his lips as he closed the door and headed up the stairs to the roof. Elena followed behind, although she wasn't really sure if they should be doing this. All her cares went away when they reached the roof, however. The views of the Capitol were breathtaking. Elena could see pretty much all of the Capitol. "This is amazing," she said. "How did you find it?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I went for a little walk," Damon explained. "The door was open, so I came up. When I saw how incredible it was, I wanted to show you." Damon smiled, and Elena's cheeks turned red. The two just sat up there for a few minutes, enjoying the view.

"You were great today," Elena said, breaking the silence. "In training." Damon half smiled, and looked at the ground.

"It's nothing compared to the Careers," he said.

"Who cares about the Careers?" Elena asked.

"Shouldn't we?" Damon asked. Elena shook her head.

"Maybe later, but not right now," she said. "Right now, we just have to focus on whatever moments we have left. We have to focus on the present." Elena trailed off a little bit toward the end, zoning out. She hadn't anticipated her words to have as much gravity as they did; they were probably going to die, and they had to savor the time they had left on the Earth. Slowly, Elena felt Damon's hand rest on her own, and he squeezed it. Elena looked up to him, and although he didn't speak, his gentle gaze said it all: _I'm here for you. Right now, in this moment, we're all that matters._ With his other hand, Damon reached up to wipe away a tear that Elena didn't realize she had shed.

"We should probably head back downstairs," Elena said, breaking the silence and sliding her hand out from under Damon's. Her mood suddenly changed, and the walls that had started to come down went right back up. "We don't want to give Carol any more heart attacks." Damon laughed, and nodded in agreement.

When Elena was back in her room, she fell onto the bed and groaned into her pillow. She felt so stupid. What was she doing, falling for a guy at a time like this? Not to mention, the guy very well may have to kill her in order to keep himself alive. Stupid, stupid, stupid! It was her fault, of course. She'd let her guard down. The wall had come down and she'd let him in: exactly what she _didn't _want to do. Sighing, she rolled over onto her back. She really didn't know _what _she wanted. She wanted to survive the Games, yes, but that would mean losing Damon. At the same time, she thought she might want Damon, but she simply couldn't have it both ways. Not when they were being thrown into a fight to the death in a matter of days.

For the next two days, things were pretty routine: Damon and Elena would get up, eat, go down to training, go back to the penthouse, have dinner with Alaric and Carol, talk about strategy, and then go to bed. Damon wasn't sure why, but it seemed like Elena was avoiding him for whatever reason. He couldn't help but wonder if he'd done anything on the roof to make her angry with him. Had he gone too far by trying to hold her hand? He'd thought he was getting through to her, but something had changed on the roof. The wall went back up.

It wasn't until the two were waiting to go in for their individual training evaluations that Damon decided to speak up.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked. Elena was sitting a few feet away from him, sitting on her hands and staring at the floor in front of her. Damon couldn't tell if she was just nervous, or trying to avoid making eye contact with him. He decided it was probably a combination of the two.

"What?" Elena asked when she heard Damon's question, looking up to face him. He seemed anxious, only not about the evaluation.

"You- you've been avoiding me or something." Damon said. "Did I do something wrong?" Elena sighed. Did he have to bring this up _now_?

"I really don't think that right now is a good time to talk about this…" she said. She really just wanted to focus on doing well on the evaluation. Elena turned back to stare at the floor again.

"Don't just brush it off like that, Elena!" Damon said. "All I know is that after we got back down from the roof the other day, you've been acting like you did on the train. I just want to know if it was my fault." Elena remained silent. She felt bad, but she really didn't know how she felt. "I thought we were getting along pretty well, and if I did anything to mess it up, I want to know so I can make it right!"

"There's nothing you _can _do!" Elena said, suddenly snapping. "It's me. I'm the one who messed everything up. I just need some time to think. I don't know _what _I want right now." Tears were welling up in her eyes, and suddenly, she felt weak. If she couldn't handle one conversation, how was she going to handle this evaluation? Forget that; how was she going to handle the arena?

"Elena Gilbert," a voice said over the loudspeaker. Elena stood up, wiped the tears from her eyes, took deep breath, and walked through the doors into the gym without looking back.


End file.
